N  S3  2L* 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK 
THE  STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION 
SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  DIVISION 


Albany ,  N.  Y October  io,  1917 

To  Librarians  and  Principals  of  Public  Secondary  Schools: 

There  has  been  much  discussion  as  to  the  relations  that  exist, 
or  should  exist,  between  school  libraries  and  public  libraries,  and 
these  discussions  seem  to  have  been  carried  on  without  very  much 


knowledge  of  the  conditions  that  really  exist. 

The  following  facts  are  well  worth  serious  consideration : 

The  number  of  secondary  public  schools  in  the  State  is .  749 

The  number  of  these  located  in  cities  or  villages  in  which  there  is  no 

public  library  is  .  201 

The  number  of  public  libraries  in  the  State  is .  548 

The  number  of  branch  libraries  is .  105 

The  number  of  public  libraries  that  are  open  every  day  and  have  paid 

librarians  is  only  .  197 

The  number  of  libraries  that  are  not  open  every  day  but  that  have 

paid  librarians  is  . . .  117 

The  number  of  libraries  that  are  not  open  every  day  and  that  pay  their 

librarians  $25  a  year  or  less  is .  32 

The  number  of  libraries  that  are  not  open  every  day  and  do  not  pay 
their  librarians  any  salary  at  all  is .  70 


There  seems  to  be  considerable  confusion  of  thought  as  to  the 
province  of  the  two  classes  of  libraries.  Many  apparently  think 
they  are  undertaking,  or  should  undertake,  practically  the  same 
work.  There  could  be  no  more  mistaken  idea.  The  work  of 
the  school  library  is,  or  ought  to  be,  chiefly  a  teaching  problem. 
The  pupils  need  to  be  trained  to  enjoy  reading  that  which  is  worth 
while,  just  as  much  as  they  need  to  be  taught  arithmetic,  grammar 
and  other  school  subjects.  This  work  can  never  be  successfully 
undertaken  by  the  public  libraries  for  at  least  two  reasons.  The 
public  libraries  can  not  reach  all  the  pupils,  nor  anywhere  near  all 
of  them.  Replies  to  a  questionnaire  sent  to  principals  of  secondary 
schools  and  to  the  librarians  of  public  libraries  indicate  that  the 
public  libraries  do  not  reach  more  than  one-half  of  the  pupils 
who  attend  the  public  schools.  If  the  public  libraries  could  bring 
all  the  children  to  them  they  would  be  overwhelmed  by  the  numbers. 
In  every  way  they  lack  facilities  for  the  teaching  work. 

It  is  evident  that  neither  the  school  library  nor  the  public  library 
can  ever  hope  to  be  in  a  condition  to  do  the  whole  work  of  training 
the  children  to  enjoy  good  reading.  Each  should  supplement  the 
work  of  the  other,  and  both  should  work  together  in  the  utmost 

Lei9r-Oi7-2500  (7-10221) 


2 


harmony.  It  is  unfortunately  true  that  in  some  places  the  two 
libraries  have  no  more  to  do  with  each  other  than  if  only  one  of 
them  were  in  existence. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  there  are  many  villages  where  there  is  no 
public  library,  others  where  there  is  a  library  but  no  trained  libra¬ 
rian,  and  many  more  in  which  the  public  library  is  small,  poorly 
supported,  without  trained  librarians,  and  open  only  a  few  hours 
a  week.  These  conditions  impose  special  burdens  upon  the  school, 
for  children  who  are  taught  how  to  read  but  not  what  to  read, 
whose  tastes  are  not  cultivated,  are  about  as  likely  to  read  that 
which  is  worthless  as  that  which  is  worth  while. 

In  order  to  find  out  so  far  as  practicable  what  conditions  really 
were,  a  questionnaire  was  sent  to  all  the  public  libraries  of  the 
State,  and  a  similar  one  to  each  of  the  high  school  principals  of 
the  State,  so  that  we  might  have  the  ideas  of  both  the  school  people 
and  the  library  people. 

The  questionnaire  sent  to  the  librarians  of  the  public  libraries 
May  17,  1917,  read  as  follows: 

Close  and  cordial  relations  should  exist  between  the  public  libraries  of  the 
State  and  the  school  libraries.  This  division  would  like  to  know  what  the 
conditions  really  are,  and  would  be  glad  if  you  would  report  to  us  at  your 
earliest  convenience.  We  are  not  now  concerned  with  your  relations  to  indi¬ 
vidual  pupils,  but  with  your  relations  to  schools  as  such.  If  you  will  kindly 
answer  the  following  questions  you  will  enable  us  to  secure  much  needed 
information.  If  we  can  have  this  before  June  10th,  it  will  be  especially 
helpful. 

1  Do  you  lend  books  to  the  schools  in  your  vicinity ;  that  is,  to  the  schools 

as  institutions,  distinct  from  the  individual  pupils? 

2  If  you  do,  to  what  extent  and  under  what  conditions? 

3  Do  you  in  any  way  aid  the  teachers  in  their  use  of  .the  school  library? 

If  so,  in  what  way  and  to  what  extent? 

4  Do  you  ever  visit  the  schools  in  your  place  or  vicinity  and  talk  to  the  chil¬ 

dren  about  their  reading,  and  their  use  of  the  school  library  and  the 
public  library? 

5  Do  the  principals  or  teachers  ever  ask  you  to  do  this?  If  so,  to  what 

extent? 

6  Do  you  ever  invite  the  pupils  to  come  to  your  library  so  that  you  may  talk 

to  them  about  the  use  of  the  public  library?  If  so,  about  how  many 
come? 

7  About  what  proportion  of  the  pupils  in  the  public  schools  draw  books  from 

your  library  regularly? 

8  State  what  you  think  it  is  feasible  for  your  library  to  do  to  make  the  use  of 

the  school  library  of  greater  value. 

Only  136  of  the  548  libraries  in  the  State  reported,  and  many 
of  those  that  reported  answered  only  a  part  of  the  questions  asked. 
A  summary  of  replies  with  some  comments  will  be  of  interest. 


3 


jj 


i 


X n  A,y^~<o 


Question  i  There  were  63  answers  in  the  affirmative  and  73 
in  the  negative;  that  is,  rather  more  than  one-half  of  the  libraries 
that  reported  do  not  concern  themselves  with  the  schools  to  any 
considerable  extent.  This  seems  extremely  unfortunate. 

Qtiestion  2  There  was  naturally  a  variety  of  replies  to  this  ques¬ 
tion.  Some  said  that  their  supply  of  books  was  not  sufficient  to 
enable  them  to  attempt  this  work.  Some  lent  books  to  schools 
with  no  time  limit.  Others  lent  grade  libraries.  Some  lent  to 
teachers  only.  Others  lent  books  to  schools  on  request.  Some 
others  lent  only  under  special  conditions.  Evidently  no  general 
plan  has  been  worked  out  and  accepted. 

Question  j  Seventy-six  report  that  they  do  nothing;  47  help 
in  one  way  or  another.  Among  the  statements  made  are  the  fol¬ 
lowing  :  “  Can  not  undertake  additional  responsibility.”  “  Aid  in 

selecting  books  for  purchase.”  “  Prepare  special  lists  on  history 
and  other  subjects.” 

Question  4  Ninety-seven  report  that  they  do  nothing;  31  attempt 
to  help.  Those  who  have  done  nothing  say :  “  Such  work  would 

create  such  a  demand  for  children’s  books  that  it  could  not  be  met.” 
“  Have  never  been  invited.”  “  Such  work  would  not  be  appre¬ 
ciated.”  “  It  is  the  business  of  the  teachers  to  do  such  work.” 
“  Would  be  glad  to  do  such  work  if  invited.” 

Question  5  One  hundred  and  six  libraries  report  that  they  have 
never  been  invited  by  the  principals  or  the  teachers  to  speak  to  the 
children  on  library  matters,  which  indicates  an  astonishing  lack 
of  interest  in  library  work  on  part  of  teachers.  May  this  condition 
not  be  due  to  the  fact  that  until  recently  little  attention  to  training 
children  to  enjoy  good  reading  has  been  given  in  most  of  our  normal 
schools  and  training  classes?  Only  20  libraries  reported  that  they 
had  ever  been  invited  to  speak  to  the  school  children. 

Question  6  Eighty- four  librarians  say  that  they  have  never 
invited  the  pupils  in  school  to  come  to  their  libraries  that  they  might 
talk  to  them  about  the  use  of  the  public  library;  47  have  given 
such  invitations  with  varying  results. 

Question  7  The  following  facts  came  out  in  response  to  this 


question : 

25%  or  fewer .  18 

From  25%  to  50% .  37 

From  50%  to  75% .  24 

From  75%  to  90% .  7 

Unable  to  give  facts .  20 

Indefinite  replies .  13 


4 

Question  8  The  following  statements  were  made  in  reply  to  this 
question :  “  Our  library  needs  strengthening  before  we  can  do 

much  for  the  school  library.”  “  The  school  library  has  more  money, 
more  books,  and  in  most  ways  is  better  provided  than  we.”  “  Would 
like  to  help  but  have  not  enough  books.”  “  Would  be  glad  to  aid 
in  classifying,  cataloging  and  arranging  if  we  had  help  enough, 
but  that  is  impossible  under  present  conditions.”  “  Advise  as  to 
purchase.”  “  Cooperation  with  principals  and  teachers.”  “  Should 
visit  schools  more.”  “  Should  be  glad  to  have  classes  visit  us,  and 
glad  to  confer  with  teachers.”  “  More  cooperation  between 
teachers  and  librarians.”  “A  short  course  on  the  use  of  books 
given  by  a  trained  librarian  to  each  of  the  teachers  training  classes, 
and  also  to  high  school  pupils.”  “  Cooperate  in  the  purchase  of 
books,  and  instruct  teachers  in  the  care  of  the  school  library.” 
“  Give  talks  to  teachers  and  pupils.” 

The  questions  sent  to  principals  of  high  schools  were 

1  About  what  proportion  of  your  pupils  regularly  draw  books  from  the 

public  library? 

2  Has  the  librarian  of  the  public  library  in  your  place  shown  any  interest  in 

your  school  library?  If  so,  how? 

3  Have  you  ever  asked  her  assistance? 

4  Does  the  librarian  of  the  public  library  ever  meet  your  pupils  either  at 

school  or  at  the  public  library,  and  discuss  library  matters  with  them? 
If  either  has  been  done,  to  what  extent  have  the  pupils  responded?  Have 
you  ever  invited  the  librarian  to  do  either? 

5  Have  you  a  satisfactory  high  school  librarian? 

6  State  what  you  think  it  is  feasible  for  you,  your  school  authorities,  or  the 

librarian  of  the  public  library  to  do  to  make  the  library  work  in  your 
school  of  greater  value. 

The  answers  to  the  questions  are  as  follows : 

Question  i  There  is  evidence  in  the  answers  to  this  question 
that  many  of  the  principals  have  very  little  interest  in  the  reading 
done  by  their  pupils.  Only  466  of  the  749  principals  made  any 
report,  a  little  more  than  62  per  cent.  Perhaps  it  is  not  unreason¬ 
able  to  suppose  that  the  others  did  not  report  because  they  could 
not  make  a  creditable  showing. 


From  1%  to  25% .  46 

From  25%  to  50% .  77 

From  50%  to  92^6% .  75 

Had  no  knowledge .  14 

Indefinite  replies .  20 


It  will  be  noted  that  nearly  one-half  of  the  principals  who  re¬ 
ported  failed  to  reply  to  this  question.  This  is  largely  accounted 


5. 


for  by  the  fact  that  there  are  many  secondary  schools  in  places 
where  there  is  no  public  library  at  all. 

Question  2  One  hundred  and  forty-one  replied  in  the  affirma¬ 
tive,  81  in  the  negative.  The  following  are  among  the  comments 
made :  “  There  is  no  trained  librarian  in  the  public  library.”  “  The 
library  is  managed  by  volunteers.”  “  The  library  is  kept  open 
only  a  very  small  part  of  the  time.” 

It  seems  to  be  the  opinion  of  a  majority  of  the  principals  of  the 
public  secondary  schools  that  many  of  the  librarians  of  the  public 
libraries  have  little  or  no  interest  in  the  public  school  pupils  or  the 
school  libraries.  It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  the  libraries  that 
were  served  by  volunteer  librarians  or  those  who  received  a  salary 
of  $25  a  year  or  less,  would  be  disposed  to  take  upon  themselves 
any  extra  burdens.  There  are  over  a  hundred  such  libraries.  In 
many  cases  the  conditions  are  such  that  the  librarian  can  not  be 
anything  more  than  a  clerk.  This  remark  probably  applies  to  more 
than  one-half  of  the  public  libraries  of  the  State;  it  is  no  reflec¬ 
tion  upon  the  librarian,  but  shows  that  the  communities  can  not 
properly  support  a  public  library,  or  at  least  do  not  do  so. 

Question  3  One  hundred  and  nine  answer  in  the  affirmative, 
99  in  the  negative,  showing  that  nearly  one-half  of  the  principals 
of  our  high  schools  are  making  no  effort  to  cooperate  with  the 
librarians  of  the  public  libraries.  This  is  a  most  unfortunate  con¬ 
dition. 

Question  4  One  hundred  and  thirty-eight  answered  in  the  nega¬ 
tive  and  60  in  the  affirmative.  Another  painful  evidence  of  a  lack 
of  cooperation. 

Question  5  Eight  reported  that  there  were  no  high  school 
librarians  in  their  schools,  6  that  their  librarians  were  fairly  satis¬ 
factory,  73  that  they  were  not  satisfactory,  and  197  that  they  had 
satisfactory  high  school  librarians,  which  may  indicate  that  they 
were  easily  satisfied.  A  few  had  the  grace  to  say  that  there  was 
need  of  having  more  time  given  to  library  work.  The  fact  that  the 
majority  of  the  high  school  principals  were  satisfied  with  the  library 
work  done  is  by  far  the  most  discouraging  feature  of  the  reports 
that  have  come  from  either  the  principals  or  the  librarians. 

Question  6  Among  the  many  replies  were  the  following:  “The 
library  should  be  made  a  vital  part  of  the  school  and  a  trained 
librarian  employed.”  “  The  school  librarian  should  give  more  time 
to  library  work.”  “  There  should  be  greater  facilities  for  library 


6 


work.”  “  The  school  libraries  should  be  larger  and  better.” 

“  Teacher-librarians  should  be  required  to  attend  library  institutes.” 

“  There  should  be  more  hours  of  library  service.”  “  The  library 
room  should  be  made  more  easily  accessible.”  “  There  is  great 
need  of  more  books  in  libraries.”  “  The  library  should  be  open  i 
every  afternoon.”  “A  school  should  have  one  teacher  who  has  1 
had  library  training.”  “  Teachers  should  be  required  to  be  familiar 
with  children’s  books.”  “  The  school  authorities  should  grant  more 
money  for  library  work.”  “  There  should  be  better  cooperation  2 
between  school  and  public  libraries.” 

There  are  many  things  in  the  reports  quoted  that  on  their  face 
look  discouraging,  but  if  one  reads  between  the  lines  he  will  find 
much  to  cheer  him.  In  many  places  there  is  excellent  work  and 
fine  cooperation.  Human  nature  is  pretty  much  the  same  the 
world  over,  and  what  has  been  accomplished  in  many  places  in 
the  State  may  be  brought  about  generally  when  conditions  are  made 
favorable.  I  am  sure  that  the  outlook  for  satisfactory  library  work 
in  the  near  future  was  never  so  bright  as  it  is  at  present.  All 
that  seems  necessary  is  that  teachers  and  librarians  should  come 
to  know  each  other  better,  understand  each  other’s  purposes  more 
thoroughly,  and  aid  each  other  all  that  they  can,  as  they  have  a 
common  purpose.  So  far  as  is  known,  in  every  instance  in  which 
school  and  public  library  local  representatives  have  come  together 
satisfactory  results  have  been  secured.  It  is  hoped  that  every  one 
interested  in  the  educational  work  of  the  State  will  aid  in  the  work 
of  cooperation  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability.  The  new  town  school 
law  promises  better  conditions  in  regard  to  libraries  in  rural  com-  J 
munities.  The  town  school  boards  are  generally  manifesting  much 
interest  in  this  matter. 

Copies  of  this  report  will  be  sent  to  every  public  library  in  the 
State,  and  to  the  principal  of  every  public  secondary  school. 

Sherman  Williams 
Chief  of  School  Libraries  Division 


